Grand Jury Report on Police: Lakeland Deserves To Know

The report, completed weeks ago, seems certain to be critical of aspects of the Police Department. Perhaps the report also praises the department in some respects, but who knows?

A sad setback for the public's right to know continues in a Polk County courtroom.

Costly legal maneuvering is shielding from public view a grand jury report on activities at the Lakeland Police Department. The grand jury had been examining the department for six weeks. It has taken testimony from a variety of top city officials.

The report, completed weeks ago, seems certain to be critical of aspects of the Police Department.

Perhaps the report also praises the department in some respects, but who knows?

Do the positives far outweigh the negatives? If that were the case, city officials would be falling over themselves trying to gain wide exposure for the report. The troubling question is, what is there to hide from citizens rightly concerned about the quality of local law enforcement?

Police Chief Lisa Womack, City Manager Doug Thomas, Mayor Gow Fields and Police Department lawyer Roger Mallory all appeared during the phase when the report — the grand jury presentment — was open to challenges. They were free to ask Judge William Bruce Smith to delete names or to keep all its contents hidden from public view. That decision is Judge Smith's, for the time being.

JUDICIAL HISTORY OF OPENNESSPolk County judges have a long-and-distinguished history of protecting the public's right to know. Former Judges Dennis Maloney, Ron Herring and Roger Alcott, in particular, issued strong-and-courageous rulings supporting open government. Maloney's was a pivotal moment in the deserved downfall of one of Polk's most shameful public servants, former Sheriff Dan Daniels, who tried to gag the entire Sheriff's Office. Herring, a jurist with impeccable law-enforcement credentials, reversed a fellow judge's decision that had prohibited The Ledger from publishing the name of a deputy who killed a drug suspect.Now Judge Smith is wrestling with whether to release an uncommon grand jury report about the quality of arguably government's most important function — ensuring a safe and secure citizenry. Perhaps he has already ruled one way or another, but because of intricate grand jury protocols, the public may be excluded from knowing whether even that has occurred.As long as this episode remains in the shadows, an ugly cloud lingers over the Lakeland Police Department. What did the grand jury find? How serious are the problems? Is the leadership capable or incompetent? Should residents feel safe? What should be done to correct the problems, if any were detailed?So far, City Commissioner Howard Wiggs deserves credit for being the sole voice of sanity coming from City Hall by questioning why city-retained outside lawyers are fighting to keep the report secret. With Lakeland taxpayers already paying a legal tab of $120,000 to defend city officials, some city commissioners are rightly concerned about legal fees skyrocketing even further.Wiggs goes further, speaking about the report: "There may be something there that reflects on someone negatively. Maybe we learn from that. It might be embarrassing, but every good leader learns from their mistakes."For their role in thwarting the report's release, city officials are engaged in an arrogant cover-up. But the final responsibility is Judge Smith's and one can only hope he has as deep an appreciation for the public's right to know as did his predecessors.Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, a champion of transparency, famously said that "sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants" to hold public institutions accountable. So far, at the Bartow courthouse, sunlight is nowhere to be found. Lakeland's residents deserve better.